Woman arrested at airport in just seconds after staff take one look at X-ray

The 30 year old was arrested after police were tipped off that a person with drugs was on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil. An X-ray was carried out and police found dozens of 'cocaine bullets' in her stomach

An airport X-ray uncovered a shocking find when it showed dozens of "cocaine bullets" in a woman's stomach, swallowed as packages of the drug.

The 30 year old woman, who has not been named, was apprehended upon her arrival at OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, after the police were tipped off about a passenger on a flight from Sao Paulo carrying narcotics.

Upon her detention, officers discovered more than 60 "cocaine bullets" in her stomach, thanks to an incriminating X-ray.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe detailed the arrest: "The team immediately intercepted the drug mule as she was making her way through immigration. She was immediately arrested, taken to a local hospital where a medical X-ray confirmed and detected foreign objects in her stomach. She has already released more than 60 bullets of suspected cocaine thus far. She is currently under police guard and custody."

Mathe also noted that while the suspect remains in detention, the drugs' worth cannot yet be estimated as all the substances have not been recovered. "The value of the drugs cannot be determined at this stage as the process to release all suspected drugs from the suspects body may take some time," she said, reports the Mirror.

Adding to the praises for the vigilant authorities, General Fannie Masemola, the national commissioner of South African Police Service, celebrated the operation as part of a crackdown on crime at OR Tambo International Airport. Masemola's words were clear: "Our men and women in blue are hard at work intercepting hardened criminals. South Africa is not a playground for criminals and transnational organised crime. We are squeezing the space for criminals and leaving nothing to chance,".

Over £560,000 worth of drugs have been intercepted at the airport in just two months. In a recent incident, a man was apprehended with 450 grams of cocaine concealed within headphones after arriving from Sao Paulo.

He intended to board a connecting flight to Nigeria when a cleaner, who is believed to have passed him the headphones at the airport, swiftly exited the area, police report.

In another case, a South African woman was detained at the same airport before her "upcoming wedding" in Brazil.

"The Germiston-based Hawks' serious organised crime investigation team pounced on the unsuspecting 33-year-old traveller at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday August 27 morning," Captain Lloyd Ramovha, the Gauteng provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, disclosed.

"A search to her luggage revealed the consignment of narcotics, which was established to be 10 kilogrammes of cocaine. They were approached and brought in for questioning at the police station. They stated that they were waiting for a traveller from elsewhere, but they could not provide proof thereof," Ramovha explained.

"It was eventually established that they were actually waiting for the arrested drug mule originating from Motherwell in Port Elizabeth," he concluded.